Zingiber officinale AND Andrographis paniculata INHIBITS SELECTED PATHOGENIC BACTERIA GROWTH

Background: The emergence of antibiotic resistance bacteria in general practice has necessitated the search for other alternative and newer antibacterial agents that are mainly of natural sources. Previous studies have shown that Zingiber officinale (ginger) and Andrographis paniculata (king bitters) have several beneficial properties against pathogenic bacteria and other microbes and are being used locally.

Aim: The antibacterial properties of Zingiber officinale and Andrographis paniculata extracts against selected clinical bacteria were evaluated in comparison to previous routine antibiotics.

Materials and Methods: Different graded concentrations of solvents were used to extract the active components from the plant parts (0.05 g/ml, 0.1 g/ml and 0.2 g/ml and 0.4 g/ml) and subjected to antibacterial sensitivity test against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Citrobacter freundii, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp and Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Results: The methanol and ethanol extracts of the two plants showed greater antibacterial activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus at a concentration of 0.4 g/ml with varying sensitivities and resistance of other bacteria recorded against the extracts and other antibiotics, while the aqueous extracts of both plants generally had no significant inhibitory activity against the tested bacteria.

Conclusion: The methanol and ethanol extracts of ginger and king of bitters plants may therefore be a promising and safe bioactive antimicrobial alternative against the multi-drug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus in wounds and skin infections.